Enhancing Australia's Prosperity

This is the text of a speech delivered by Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott to the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Canberra today.

Acknowledgements

Distinguished guests.

Ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are gathered – the Ngunnawal people.

I would like to thank the Australian Institute of International Affairs for inviting me to speak this morning.

We have experienced some seismic international events over the last 12 months with the Brexit decision and the United States election.

And those events have raised questions here in Australia.

People are legitimately asking is Australia next?

My fundamental proposition this morning is that we don’t have the antecedents of what led to Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.

But, and it’s a very important but, we need to guard against forces that could create such an environment.

We need to protect and improve the factors that have driven our living standards and our social cohesion.

Is Australia next?

In explaining my proposition I want to start with some observations about the recent events in the United Kingdom and the United States.

There is no unequivocal answer about the complex forces that led to Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as US President.

But I think, at the core of both decisions was a rejection of the establishment and a failure to make the middle class and low income earners better off.

And, to make them feel better off.

And by establishment I mean politicians, major political parties, big business, the media and the commentariat.

I think some of the votes were in anger, and some in protest. And the outcome of both events reflect deeply divided nations, more so in the case of the United States.

My thesis is that one of the biggest drivers of the divide in these nations is the lack of a sense of shared prosperity.

There have been some suggestions that our own unexpected election result with the shift to minor parties suggests we are going down the Brexit and Trump path.

I can see why commentators argue that, but I think there are tremendous risks of overstatement and like-for-like comparison.

Because I believe that Australia is a very different country to the United States or the United Kingdom.

Differences that do not create the same environment for the trends we have seen in other parts of the world.

Different value systems

Let me spell out the differences.

The United Kingdom has a long history of aristocracy and subsequent class hierarchy, and colonialism that contributes to the nation it is today.

That history was never going to make it a good fit with the European Union.

The United States, like Australia, benefits from being a young nation.

And young nations need to forge their identity.

As David Hackett Fischer discusses in Fairness and Freedom, the United States defined itself around freedom.

The platform from which our young nation built itself was fairness.

But from its very beginnings, the United States has been a deeply divided nation.

The United States civil war reflected this division.

The closest Australia has come to major civil unrest was the Eureka Stockade in 1854, and the Great Strikes in the shearing and maritime industries in 1891 and 1894.

The civil war ended slavery in the United States, but it left a chasm.

It left a class of citizen that continues to this day to face ingrained discrimination. And it also left a relatively impoverished South.

In contrast, the Great Strikes left our yet to be federated nation with a choice.

How would we define ourselves? Would we adopt our English heritage of a hierarchical class structure, or abandon it and recognise workers?

Our country chose the latter and it defined itself by fairness.

One of the first debates in the Australian Parliament was about establishing an arbitration court for workplace relations.

As a result the first Australian award with a minimum wage was established in 1906.

That first award and minimum wage, were about establishing rights for workers. It was part of the fairness that Australia became known for.

The divides in the United States, be they racial, geographical, or economic, make for a very complex set of social divisions and are the antecedents of a substantial backlash against the establishment.

Australia has a very different society. While we have largely failed Indigenous Australians, and have pockets of entrenched disadvantage, and some worrying trends in inequality …

we do not have the same deeply entrenched and pervasive divisions as the United States.

So it is my contention that Australia has a different value system and societal structure to both the United States and the United Kingdom – which, if nurtured, will be our greatest protection.

Values in action

Social services

This value system is reflected in both our social services and our safety net, particularly compared to the United States.

We have access to universal health care in Medicare.

The details of how we manage Medicare and how to make our health system sustainable are hotly debated.

But there is no debate in our community or within our political parties about the removal of universal health care.

It is, and I predict will remain, a centrepiece of Australian social policy.

We have a mass education system. One that now extends into higher education.

In my view, education and all the things that flow from it, creates the single biggest platform to reduce inequality.

And access to education has been fundamental to maintaining the values of fairness and opportunity for all Australians.

It has been a centrepiece of social and intergenerational mobility.

And this shows in the statistics.

A generation ago, in the early 1980s, most people didn’t finish high school, and less than 20 per cent of people got a tertiary qualification.

Today, about 85 per cent of young people finish Year 12, and more than half of Australian adults have tertiary qualifications.

Our newest initiative, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, is another example of our society putting in place a substantial structural safety net.

The NDIS has big design, implementation and funding issues to be sorted out. And they must be fixed if it’s to be sustainable.

But, the Australian community has backed this as an essential part of our social infrastructure.

In so many aspects of Australian life, there is a sense of protecting vulnerable people. The old age pension, the unemployment benefit, the disability pension itself.

And while I’d be the first person to suggest they all need some modernisation, when they are under threat the community pushes back very hard.

So in the 2014 budget, when the whole idea of the unemployment safety net was thrown up in the air (even though the budget itself was heading in the right direction), I and many people questioned the fairness of leaving people without an income for six months.

Shared economic growth

Australia is also unique in recent economic history.

As a result of committed reforming governments in the 1980s and 1990s, and our mining boom, Australia has experienced 25 consecutive years of economic growth.

And our values are reflected in the fact that growth has largely been shared across the country.

The average Australian's real income per capita has doubled over the last 40 years.

And when you look at Australia compared to other countries in the OECD, the growth rate for the poorest households in Australia exceeded that of the highest-income households in most OECD countries.

And to stress again: while not every Australian has experienced that growth equally, and we do have pockets of entrenched disadvantage…

… we can be very sure that the vast majority of Australians have benefited from that growth.

This is in stark contrast to the United States.

While median US incomes are gradually returning to pre-Global Financial Crisis levels, the growth is primarily at the top.

The top one per cent of income earners in the United States captured 85 per cent of the growth between 2009 and 2013.

The Global Financial Crisis caused immense hardship for middle and lower-income earners, particularly in the United States and Europe.

And many victims in the US felt the people who created the GFC were not held to account for their actions.

They felt the establishment destroyed their lives, stole their homes, but continued to live a privileged existence.

So taking all of this into account, do I think Australia is next?

As I said in my introduction, I don’t think we have the antecedents to be next.

But if we’re complacent or arrogant to the forces around the world and the sentiments of our citizens…

… we risk undermining some elements of tolerance, cohesion and the social compact.

Lessons to learn

So, what are the specific lessons we need to learn? What do we need to protect?

I think there are two things we need to focus on.

The first is we need to listen to citizens. We need to listen to where the discontent is, why the discontent exists, and ensure our institutions can respond.

But most importantly, we need to protect our capacity to grow. And we need to continue to ensure that everyone enjoys the dividends of growth.

And that growth improves people's quality of life, their sense of fulfilment and purpose, protects their choices, and offers opportunity.

Maintaining growth

Australia’s recent economic history is unique. And that comes down to growth.

Growth is about rising real incomes per person. That is, on average, an individual’s purchasing power increases.

And let’s be very clear – that is what has happened in Australia over our 25 years of consecutive growth.

Our businesses drove growth through investment and innovation.

That’s how we got technological advances that brought costs down.

Opening our economy to trade across the world encouraged competition and delivered greater consumer choice and lower prices.

Our careful management of migration and settlement has been a point of difference compared to many other countries.

Opening our door to skilled migrants brought new ideas and a more productive labour market.

The combination of these factors is how the average Australian's real income per capita has doubled over the last forty years.

But growth isn’t just limited to the social infrastructure and rising incomes, it’s also part of our daily lives.

The life expectancy of Australians is one of the highest in the world, and only behind Japan, Switzerland and Singapore.

And, thanks to medical advances and the economic growth that pays for medical care, our longer lives are also healthier.

For example, the mortality rate for cancer has fallen significantly.

If I think about the way we live, some necessities are more affordable and more accessible.

For example, the cost of a washing machine halved between 1984 and 2009. And the amount we spend on fridges and freezers has dropped by 25 per cent.

That’s not to deny that some people feel cost of living pressures.

And moving beyond necessities, growth has meant we have a much greater rate of affluence than 50 years ago. Take family holidays, take transport, take spending on discretionary items.

And this is what growth looks like. That is what being better off looks like:

a safety net

people with increased spending power, including for non-necessities

a population that is educated, and

a population that has more choices than ever before.

Now I want to be very clear here again.

Again, I’m not for a minute suggesting there isn’t poverty, there aren’t inequality problems and there aren’t pockets of entrenched disadvantage in Australia.

There are obviously some Australians facing severe economic hardship, and my intent is not to dismiss them.

But growth has given us social infrastructure, a safety net, and it’s given many people greater affluence.

And growth, and the prosperity that flows from it, is what we need to protect.

Listening to citizens

Despite the enormous benefits of growth, there is a growing sentiment questioning the value of it.

This is reflected in the questioning of globalisation, migration, innovation and the value and virtues of technology.

Questioning of the very things that have driven our growth.

Because despite the increase in living standards and affluence, people don’t feel better off.

And there’s no point quoting statistics at people to convince them they’re better off.

Instead we need to listen to this new sentiment with empathy and understanding. Not arrogance, blame and denigration.

So why are they dissatisfied? Let’s go back to what people are saying.

They say they’re worried about jobs and the future of industries in their communities.

They’re worried about immigration and refugees.

They’re worried about their local school not being good enough for their kids.

They’re worried about not being able to buy a house. And they’re even more worried about their kids not being able to buy a house.

They’re worried about congestion and crowded public transport.

They see population growth happening without an improvement in the infrastructure, and are concerned about the impact on their quality of life.

They worry about terms like innovation because they feel this means my job will go.

They worry about terms like productivity because they feel this means someone wants me to work harder for less money.

While these concerns are real, I think they are primarily a response to the massive disruption we are experiencing.

People have always been perturbed by societal disruption, and this is nothing new.

But, in this fast-paced world where people feel like they have no time to do anything, or influence in their local community…

… they feel a loss of control.

And in our western democracies, when people feel less control, they look to their leaders and institutions for comfort.

And one of our challenges right now is that people aren’t getting that comfort because they’ve lost faith in our institutions.

They’ve lost faith in government, organised religions, business, and our modern democratic societies.

They don’t believe that institutions are capable of managing these forces in a way that benefits everyone.

I said earlier we are not divided in the same way as the United States and the United Kingdom.

But we are starting to see the substantial rise of minor parties on both sides of the political spectrum, and the rise of populist policies.

Close to 25 per cent of Australians didn’t vote for either major party in the recent election.

And this drift from mainstream politics cuts across multiple groups.

It’s people in regional and urban areas. It’s people on low and high incomes.

It’s the left, the right, and the centre.

People think governments have run out of ideas and credibility.

And they have certainly run out of money and can no longer throw it around to solve problems.

Throughout history, organised religion has provided a moral compass and comfort to many people.

But some organised religions have failed their members. While people may maintain their faith, their trust in the organisation has been eroded.

Turning to big business, we are not exempt from creating this distrust with institutions.

There is a loss of faith in business that was cemented by the behaviours in some firms that led to the Global Financial Crisis.

The economic hardship caused by the Global Financial Crisis has been outweighed tenfold by the loss of trust.

And we cannot walk away from the fact that continued reputation problems erode trust in business.

So, this combination of people feeling worse off, and having low trust in the institutions and the tools of economic growth, is the essential dilemma we are now facing.

The very things that will preserve our prosperity:

the strength of our institutions

driving increased productivity, which we know increases wages

making the economy more innovation capable, which we know increases productivity

…are the things people are questioning and don’t believe in.

And my fear for the country is that if we walk away from the very things that have protected us, we’ll actually fail the people who need us the most.

New mindset

So, how do we counter this?

We need a new mindset and approach to leadership, across our institutions.

Mindset

The first mindset shift we need is to a global mindset.

And a truly global mindset is telling the truth about the futility of trying to protect jobs and industries in a global marketplace.

A global mindset knows you have to open up, not shut down trade.

A global mindset knows that forging strong cultural and diplomatic relations remains the best foundation for economic relationships.

The second is a digital mindset.

And I don’t mean using digital to do business as usual.

I mean using digital capability to produce goods and services in a new and different way. Seeing that services and products are digital.

The third mindset shift is to focus on skills and capabilities as they will become as important as goods and services.

They will be the greatest protection from the disruption underway.

Mindset shifts are important, because old mindsets won’t get us through this disruption.

Mindsets that start with protectionism and isolation will be our undoing.

Leadership

We also need a new approach to leadership.

Our leaders need to be grounded in a deep understanding of what is going on in the world, and how people feel about it.

Leaders need to show people how technological change leads to progress, give them a sense of vision and purpose, and step them through how we are going to respond to it.

And our leaders today need to show that they remain committed to the Australian values of fairness for all.

As Franklin D Roosevelt said, the test of progress, ‘is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.’

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Business has an obligation to push for policies that seek to lock in the conditions for continuing economic success. More

BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott Appointed IPAA National Fellow

9 October 2012

Jennifer Westacott has been appointed a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia. More

Actions for this Year's Budget: Article by Jennifer Westacott

19 March 2015

Strengthening our fiscal position is ultimately about strengthening the Australian economy and protecting living standards, now and into the future. More

These Are Good Times, But Not for All

25 October 2007

Economic reform must continue so all can join in Australia’s prosperity, writes Michael Chaney in The Age. More

Statement On Company Transparency Report For 2014-2015

9 December 2016

The Tax Office’s company tax data underscores that Australia has some of the strongest transparency and integrity measures of any country in the world. More

The Future of Education - Australian Davos Connection Forum Address by Jennifer Westacott

11 August 2016

Education is the key to every working Australian's future. And it's the key to our country's future. But if education is truly the key to our future, what do we need from education? More

Australian Climate Roundtable: Joint Opinion Article

29 June 2015

Broad and durable support is required to effectively tackle climate change. More

Australia Day: Daily Telegraph Article by Jennifer Westacott

26 January 2015

BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott reflects on what has made Australia great, and talks about the kind of country we want for the future. More

Regulatory Reform Forum: Remarks by Steven Munchenberg to the National Press Club

12 December 2005

Forum canvasses how red tape is adding a dead weight on business and hampering Australia’s competitiveness. More

Speech by Jennifer Westacott to the YFoundations Conference 2013

20 September 2013

How are changes in the economy changing work opportunities for young people? More

Australia’s Place in the World: Speech to the International House Melbourne University Winter Dinner

14 August 2008

Speech by John W.H. Denton to the International House Melbourne University Winter Dinner More

Speech by Tony Shepherd to the John Grill Centre for Project Leadership

25 September 2013

BCA President Tony Shepherd explains why technical and project management skills and capability must be backed up by effective and strong leadership. More

Creating Jobs in the Age of Disruption: Speech by Jennifer Westacott

Let's approach the workplace relations debate with aspiration and imagination. More

Speech to the TAFE Directors Australia Vision 2020 Conference

4 September 2014

The actions needed to create a high-performance vocational education and training sector in Australia. More

Speech on Innovation by Jennifer Westacott to the ANZSOG 2014 Conference

6 August 2014

Why innovation is an imperative for both the private and public sectors, and nine insights on creating an innovation culture. More

China-Australia Free Trade Agreement: Article by Jennifer Westacott

8 August 2015

ChAFTA will make our economy stronger and create more jobs for Australians long into the future. More

Benefits of Privatisation: Article by Jennifer Westacott

20 February 2015

The people of NSW are set to gain substantially from the government’s plans to privatise its energy assets and reinvest the proceeds in new infrastructure. More

Statement on the Release of Infrastructure Australia Plan

17 February 2016

This plan to meet our infrastructure challenges is a blueprint that all governments, working together, can support and implement. More

Jennifer Westacott on Sky News

29 March 2016

Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott interviewed on Sky News discusses the path for transforming the tax system to improve the living standards of all Australians by supporting economic transition and accelerating growth. More

Garma Key Forum Opening Remarks by Jennifer Westacott

30 July 2016

Opening remarks given by Business Council Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott at the Garma 2016 Key Forum on Corporate Australia and Indigenous Economic Development. More

Message from the CEO: Why ChAFTA must be ratified

6 September 2015

The Business Council of Australia launch a communications and advertising campaign in support of the most important bilateral trade deal Australia has ever done - the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). More

Job Creation in the Age of Disruption: Article by Jennifer Westacott

14 August 2015

No matter which side of the debate we’re on, if we are looking to go back and settle old scores or use old mindsets in this discussion, we will fail. More

Article on Company Tax by Jennifer Westacott and Frank Drenth

7 October 2014

Misleading report unfairly tarnishes the reputation of many Australian companies, the ATO and risks setting back the tax reform debate Australia needs. More

Article on Tax Reform by Toby Hall and Jennifer Westacott in The Age

26 August 2013

If political parties were being honest, they would explain the structural problems with the current tax system that make careful and comprehensive reform essential. More

Understanding the CSR Landscape: A View from CorporateAustralia

5 February 2007

BCA Chief Executive Katie Lahey’s address to the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility ‘Turning Point’ conference. More

Reshaping Australia’s Federation: Speech to the Australian/Melbourne Institute Economic and Social Outlook Conference

3 November 2006

BCA Deputy Chief Executive Steven Münchenberg outlines why reforming Australia’s federal system is important for business and the community. More

Improved Gender Reporting: Article in Women's Agenda

13 March 2015

The new reporting regime takes us a step closer to advancing gender equality so that women and men can thrive equally in the workplaces of Australia. More

We Need to Talk about Refurbishing All Our Safety Nets

23 January 2012

In looking at the adequacy of the Newstart Allowance, we need to look at reform that will afford Australia true wealth in terms of a sustainable, meaningful social safety net. More

Challenges and Opportunities for a 4th-Term Howard Government: Speech by Hugh Morgan to the National Press Club

15 June 2005

Speech discusses the business of reform and how economies that support and encourage competitiveness are invariably those that are the most successful. More

Growth to What End: Changing the Australian Mindset: Speech by BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott to the Cranlana Programme

10 October 2012

Speech by Jennifer Westacott to the Cranlana Programme ‘Good Society’ Speech Series. More

The Purple House Fund Launch

16 April 2015

Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott will launch the fund at a celebration in Melbourne in support of the Purple House (Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation).
More

Restoring a High-Performing Public Service: Speech by BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott to the IPAA 2012 International Congress

20 September 2012

Speech by BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott to the IPAA 2012 International Congress in Melbourne. More

Address to the Business Council of Australia by Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd

1 February 2007

Address by Mr Kevin Rudd MP, Leader of the Opposition, to the Business Council of Australia in February 2007. More

Business Council of Australia 30th Anniversary Dinner: President’s Speech

4 December 2013

Speech by Tony Shepherd to the dinner commemorating the Business Council of Australia’s 30th anniversary. More

Australia’s Golden Opportunity

15 March 2007

We can do more to depart from previous economic cycles and lift our living standards further, op-ed argues. More

Workplace Relations: Third Article in The Australian

21 March 2015

Rather than more tinkering what is required is a new framework that gets the balance right. More

Meeting with the Prime Minister of India: Remarks by Jennifer Westacott

18 November 2014

Opening remarks made by the BCA Chief Executive to a roundtable meeting of CEOs with the Honourable Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. More

Doing Nothing on Tax Reform is Simply Not an Option

8 February 2016

Leaving our tax system the way it is now is unproductive, unsustainable and ultimately unfair. More

2015-16 Budget Submission: Article by Jennifer Westacott

3 March 2015

It's time to stop the blame game and start fixing Australia's budget position. More

Speech by BCA President Greig Gailey to the Committee for Economic Development Australia

1 April 2009

This speech, titled ‘Looking Past the Downturn’, calls for medium-term spending discipline in the federal budget and for reforms to boost productivity, competitiveness and workforce participation. More

The Best Welfare is Working

For many Australian families, getting access to the right kind of government support at the right time is the key to setting them up for future success in life. More

Why Budget Discipline Matters: Article in the Daily Telegraph

18 February 2014

Article by Jennifer Westacott in the Daily Telegraph highlights why fiscal discipline and a strong budget position matters to long-term economic growth. More

Speech by BCA President Tony Shepherd to the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce

4 April 2012

Australia is a great country. But we are now playing in a much more competitive game. More

Strong Biz or Ed and Health. Reality is We Need Both

30 June 2016

Having to decide between strong business, or education and health, is a phony choice this election. More

Opening Address to the National Reform Summit by Catherine Livingstone

26 August 2015

Today we have a leadership responsibility to present fellow Australians with an ambitiously positive vision. More

Superannuation Governance: Article by Jennifer Westacott

9 July 2015

The Parliament should get behind this sensible modernisation of one of Australia's most important endowments. More

Economic Reforms Needed to Build a Better Future

23 January 2016

How positive do we feel about our nation’s place in the world and our capacity to realise these opportunities? How confident are we that our children and grandchildren will enjoy the same quality of life as we do, or something even better? More

Why a vision for the future of our cities must be at the top of our social, economic and political discourse: 2014 Utzon Lecture by Jennifer Westacott. More

Workplace Relations: Second Article in The Australian

28 February 2015

The national discussion about workplaces must be about creating a culture of collaboration and innovation. More

BCA Annual Forum Address by The Hon. Scott Morrison MP

13 April 2016

This address was delivered by The Hon. Scott Morrison MP at the Business Council of Australia's Annual Forum Dinner in Sydney 13 April 2016. More

Speech by BCA President Greig Gailey to the Australian Workers Union National Conference

3 February 2009

What policies are needed to support economic revival and resilience in the face of the global economic slowdown? More

Start from the Right End of the Tax Reform Debate: Article by Jennifer Westacott

12 November 2015

Let’s focus on what we want the tax system to do and what needs to be fixed. More

Corporate Philanthropy: State of Play

17 March 2003

Speech by Katie Lahey, Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia to the Philanthropy Australia Conference More

Speech to the BCA-Clayton Utz BEPS Workshop

6 November 2014

BCA Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott discusses the base erosion and profit shifting agenda and the need for tax reform to help drive competitiveness. More

Cyber Security: Article by Jennifer Westacott

8 July 2015

Because we all share the consequences of cyber crime, working together is critical. More

People Hungry for a New Vision

05 April 2012

Edited extract of a speech by BCA President Tony Shepherd to the Australia–Israel Chamber of Commerce, published in The Australian newspaper. More

Workplace Relations Reform: Article by Jennifer Westacott

14 August 2015

As our economy undergoes enormous transformation we must prepare ourselves for the jobs of the future in a way that will offer people rewarding work. More

National Reform Summit: Article by Jennifer Westacott

25 July 2015

This could be the best chance we’ve had for some time for a more informed, sensible and forward-looking public debate. More

Expanding the Economy: Speech by BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott to the Whitlam Institute

24 October 2012

The lesson from the Whitlam era is that if leaders don’t match a strong vision with sound economic performance and fiscal discipline, they limit how much can be achieved.
More

Business Council of Australia 2004 Annual Dinner: President’s Speech

19 October 2004

In the midst of strong economic growth, Australia continues to face major challenges, and the BCA is driving an agenda focused on addressing these challenges. More

Path to Progress Hinges on Commitment to Aussie Values

03 December 2016

Australia’s different value system and societal structure – evidenced by Medicare, mass education and the welfare safety net – are our greatest protection against division. More

The Australian Financial Review Higher Education Summit

28 March 2003

Speech by David Murray, Chairman of Business Council of Australia Education and Training Task Force More

National Press Club Address by Catherine Livingstone

29 April 2015

BCA President Catherine Livingstone delivers a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra. More

A Servant to Short-Termism

21 September 2012

Edited extract of speech by Jennifer Westacott to the Institute of Public Administration Australia. More

World Business Council for Sustainable Development-BCA Forum Presentations

31 August 2011

Presentations to the joint World Business Council for Sustainable Development-BCA forum on the topic of ‘The Sustainability Challenge: Business Creativity in Practice’. More

Keep the Pressure on, Prosperity Is up for Grabs

1 December 2005

The lack of clear and robust lines of accountability and transparency across federal–state jurisdictions is inhibiting lasting reform. More

BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott’s Address to the Australian Government 2011 Tax Forum

4 October 2011

Opening Remarks by Jennifer Westacott to the Business Tax Session of the Australian Government 2011 Tax Forum.
More

Statement On New Training Package Arrangements

10 November 2016

The Business Council of Australia welcomes the government’s announcement today of the new Service Skills Organisations (SSOs) to develop Training Packages for the manufacturing, automotive, and mining and drilling sectors. More

Policy that Counts: Assessing Election Commitments in 2007

17 April 2007

BCA President Michael Chaney launches a package of policy recommendations aimed at elevating Australia’s living standards into the world’s top-five band by 2012. More

The Australian Financial Review Higher Education Summit

28 March 2003

Speech by Phil Clark, Member of Business Council of Australia Education and Training Task Force to The Australian Higher Education Summit
More

Business Council of Australia 2012 Annual Dinner: Chief Executive’s Address

15 November 2012

The Business Council of Australia is one of many voices speaking up on behalf of national prosperity and wellbeing. More

Growth, Community and Quality of Life: Presentation by BCA Chief Economist Peter Crone to the Whitlam Institute

15 July 2010

BCA Chief Economist Peter Crone explores how businesses better connect with the national interest. More

Corporate Tax: Article in the AFR

20 February 2015

The Senate's inquiry is a welcome opportunity for considered and informed discussion about the performance of our corporate tax system. More

Action Plan for Enduring Prosperity: Jennifer Westacott’s AFR Article

The BCA action plan aims to encourage discussion and action on long-term social and economic goals for Australia, Jennifer Westacott explains in the AFR. More

Business Council of Australia 2006 Annual Dinner: Prime Minister’s Address

13 November 2006

Address by the Honourable John Howard MP, Prime Minister of Australia, to the BCA 2006 Annual Dinner. More

Make Business Strong and We Are All Winners

30 June 2016

Business groups representing more than 360,000 businesses employing more than 6.2 million people explain why, in a global environment, a more competitive company tax rate is vital for a strong Australia. More

Aussies Should be Barracking for a Better Tax System

11 April 2016

The harsh truth is that Australia’s global economic competitiveness ranking has fallen from tenth a decade ago to 21st, behind New Zealand. More

Annual Dinner 2015: Prime Minister's Speech

11 November 2015

Speech delivered by the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister of Australia, at the Business Council of Australia's 2015 Annual Dinner on 5 November in Sydney. More

Students Should Not Be Caught Out By New VET Loan Scheme

26 October 2016

Small changes should be made to the replacement of the VET FEE-HELP (VFH) program to minimise the impact on students and the VET market More

Crawford Leadership Forum Opening Remarks by Jennifer Westacott

20 June 2016

Jennifer Westacott gave some opening remarks at the plenary session of the Crawford Australian Leadership Forum on empowered consumers. More